Dump trucks are commonly used to haul bulk materials such as sand, gravel, dirt, etc. The dump body is typically located behind the cab and is hinged to the very back of the truck. A hoist operates to pivot the dump body between a down or level position and an up or tilted position wherein the load can be dumped out the rear door. Dump bodies with rear doors have been available for many years.
Side dump trucks have also been available heretorfore. Instead of including a rear door, the dump bodies of side dump trucks include side doors through which the load can be dumped next to the truck. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,371,208 to Stricker, 3,884,526 to Sweet and 3,316,019 to Flowers are representative of the prior art in this regard.
In some applications it is desirable to have a rear dump body with side doors that also fold down to allow the materials therein to be either fully or partially removed from either side, while the body is in the down or level position. For example, if maneuvering space is limited, there may not be enough room to raise the body and dump the materials out the back, although there may be sufficient space to off load the materials through side doors with a skid steer loader.
Dump bodies with both rear and side doors have also been available heretofore; however, the side doors of the dump bodies of the prior art tend to become clogged with material when the dump body is in the level position. This, of course, means that the side doors cannot be raised and closed without cleaning, which requires additional time and effort. Further, if not done thoroughly, this can interfere with proper latching of the side doors. Such clogging does not occur with dump bodies that tilt about an axis parallel to the door(s) through which material is dumped.
A need has thus arisen for an improved dump body having fold down side doors which are adapted to be self-cleaning when the body is in the down or level position so that the doors can then be closed and positively secured without first requiring cleaning by the operator.